Where exactly the name "Chettle" came from, like many things in this part of the world, depends on who you ask. Some say it comes from the Old English Cietel, meaning a deep valley between hills, and we know that it was recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Coetel, meaning 'a wooded hollow'. Interestingly, the 'Chettle' spelling first appeared around 1234 and has the same roots as the word "kettle"!

The Romans also left their mark on Chettle, with various coins and artefacts being excavated over the years. In August 2003, Margaret Hamilton, a local archaeologist, discovered a range of Roman bronze and glass objects. One of the objects, a beautiful mirror, is now housed in the British Museum.

Edward (Timothy Castleman) Bourke was the youngest child and inherited only paintings and books; he qualified and practised as a solicitor, started a timber yard, and, with his elder sister Susan poured energy, time and any money they made into doing up cottages, farm buildings and the estate. Teddy and his wife Barbara turned Chettle Lodge into the Castleman Hotel and Restaurant in 1996. Barbara was an excellent cook and a hard worker. Teddy was one of Dorset’s finest raconteurs, very good at reading the paper and drinking red wine and whisky. They wanted to create a place that served good, locally sourced food and wine, in comfortable but not stuffy surroundings, with a great atmosphere and offered incredibly good value for money. The idea was to provide local employment, make enough money to keep the building in good order, repair some other buildings, restore a painting or two and pay a little something to live on. They were the perfect combination, and The Castleman got terrific reviews and a good name for itself, which it sustained for nearly 24 years. After the death of Teddy and then both of Barbara’s parents, it was time for her to hang up her apron and go and make that history of art degree she promised Teddy she would do.

Patrick (John Castleman) Bourke inherited Chettle House and gardens. He and his wife Janet lovingly renovated Chettle House and opened it to the public to make ends meet. Jan was a hard worker (a running theme amongst the women in Chettle), and she did everything: baking for the teas, being an excellent seamstress, repairing all sorts of fabrics around the house as well as being the full-time gardener. Patrick was a font of knowledge when it came to garden plants, and he ran the nursery from the polytunnels situated in the car park. He was best known for wandering around barefoot and starting exciting business ventures. He planted a vineyard on a south-facing slope in the 80s. Sadly, the wine was dreadful! Patrick and Jan had 2 children, Peter and Nikki.

Susan (Elizabeth) Favre (nee Bourke) was the eldest child, and she inherited the rest of the estate on her mother’s death. It was a complicated time for Susan. She inherited the estate as a gift from her mother on the occasion of her marriage to a man she didn’t know well, having promised him they could leave for New York for his work as soon as they got married. She came back to London in 1970 and the estate in 1981 and had her only child, Alice, at the grand age of 47 in 1982. Susan worked alongside Teddy in the estate office every day from 9-5, she then painted windows and houses (badly) after work, and Saturdays were for work around the estate, building flint walls, clearing ground and having a bonfire, more painting of stuff and being with her beloved sheep (the only thing mentioned in her will). She was one of the hardest working women you would ever meet, but amongst the work, she was also a great dinner party host and had a great sense of humour and a zest for life.